What do you guys think about direction of planting in relation to how much sunlight a corn plant captures and possibly if that changes at a certain latitude on the map? Any studies anybody has seen? Thanks

I remember seeing reading a study about this back when I was in Ag school over a decade ago. I can't remember what crops were tested but there was a slight yield advantage to planting North/South. Sorry I don't remember the % yield gains over East/West, but they were in the single digits.

If not for other factors, I would plant my whole farm N/S. Unfortunately topography, field shape, and in my case, oilfield access roads usually dictate a planting direction other than N/S.

I remember an reading about this years ago also. Don't remember everything but it said by planting n-s the soil between rows would only be exposed to the sun for a short time around noon. This resulted in less weed growth and lower evaporation. This was in cereal crops I think, row crops might not matter as much? Not sure if there were any other advantages/disadvantages but since reading this I always try(depending on field) to plant n-s.

I have to agree with the N/S seeding direction, the ground gets shaded more hours per day=more sunlight on plants. Also gets me thinking, sun hitting ground at noon would lose some intense sunlight. I do remember seeing some study on this, and it did favour N/S seeding.